Timeline: Indian History
7500 BC : Civilization at Gulf of Khambar
2500-1500 BC: Indus Valley Civilisation.
2000-1500: Aryans arrive from central Asia.
1500-1000: The Early Vedic Age – Rigveda.
1000-500: Later Vedic Period - Samaveda,
Yajurveda and Atharvaveda,
Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Samhitas, early
Upanishads and Sutras.
563-483 : Gautama Buddha – born at Lumbini
(Nepal); attainment of knowledge –
Bodh Gaya (Bihar); first sermon –
Sarnath, near Varanasi (UP); Nirvana –
Kusinagar (Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh).
540-468 : Mahavira – born at Kundagrama near
Vaishali (Bihar) and nirvana at Pavapuri
(Patna, Bihar).
492-460 : Rule of Ajatasatru, son of Bimbisara,
king of Magadha.
364-321 : Rule of Nandas of Magadha
326 : Invasion of India by Alexander Battle
of Hydaspes.
322-298 : Reign of Chandragupta Maurya, the
founder of the Mauryan dynasty.
273-232 : Reign of Ashoka , son of Bindusara
261 : Kalinga war.
257 : Asoka's conversion to Budhism by
Upagupta.
250 : Third Buddhist council at Pataliputra
90 : Sakas invade India.
58 : The Vikrama Samvat (vikram era) intro-
duced by King Vikramaditya of Ujjain.
20-46 AD : Gondophernes, the king of Indo-
Parthians.
78 : Accession of Kanishka, The Saka era begins.
100-300 : The Sangam Age in south India.
50 BC-250 AD : Satavahana dynasty in the Deccan.
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320-335 : Reign of Chandragupta-I.
335-380 : Reign of Samudragupta known as Indian
Napoleon.
380-414 : Reign of Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya).
405-411 : The visit of the Chinese pilgrim Fa-hien
to India.
500-527 : Rule of Huns over North India.
606-647 : Harsha Vardhana of Kanauj. Hiuen-Tsang
visited India (AD 630-644).
500-757 : First Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi
630 : Harsha's clash with PulakesinII
973-1190 : Chalukya dynasty of Kalyani
760-1142 : Palas of Eastern India.
985-1014 : Reign of Rajaraja, the Great. Starts a
great land survey (AD 1000).
1014-1044 : Reign of Rajendra Chola. Naval cam-
paign against Sri Vijaya kingdom.
788-820 : Sankaracharya and his philosophy of
Advaita.
712 : Arabs occupy Sindh.
871-1173 : Imperial cholas of Tanjore.
916-1203 : Construction of Khajuraho Temples.
1000-1027: Invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni.
1191 : Prithviraj III, defeated Muhammad Ghori
in the first battle of Tarain .
1192 : Mohammad Ghori defeated Prithviraj in
theSecond Battle of Tarain in 1192.
1206 : Foundation of the Sultanate of Delhi by
Qutub-ud-din Aibak.
1210 : Death of Qutub-ud-din Aibak.
1210-1236: Reign of Iltutmish.
1221 : Mongol invasion under Chenghis Khan.
1231 : Iltumish completed the construction of
Qutub Minar at Delhi.
1236-1240: Reign of Empress Raziya, daughter of
Iltutmish, the first and last woman ruler
of Medieval India.
1266-1287: Reign of Sultan Balban.
1288-1293: Visit of Marco Polo in India. 1540 :Humayun’s defeat near Kanauj.
1290-1296 : Sultan Jalal-ud-din Firuz Khalji, founder 1542 :Birth of Akbar.
of the Khalji dynasty. 1545 :Battle of Kalinjar.
1296 : Alauddin Khalji invades Devagiri. 1545 :Death of Sher Shah.
1296-1316: Reign of Sultan Alauddin Khalji. 1555 :Battle of Sirhind. Sikandur Suri was de-
1309-1311: Malik Kafur's expedition into South India. feated by Humayun, Humayun recov-
1320-1325: Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (Ghazi Malik), ers the throne of Delhi.
founder of the Tughlaq dynasty. 1556 : Death of Humayun and accession of
1325-1351: Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. Transferred Akbar. Second Battle of Panipat.
the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad- 1556-1605: Akbar's reign.
1327. Issue of token currency – 1329. 1564 : Abolition of Jezyah.
1333 : Ibn Batuta arrives in India. 1565 : Battle of Talikota Vijayanagar destroyed.
1351-1388: Sultan Firuz Tughlaq. 1571 : Foundation of Fatehpur Sikri.
1398 : Invasion of Timur during the reign of 1576 : Battle of Haldighati and defeat of
Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Maharana Pratap.
1414-1451: Reign of Sayyid dynasty. 1579 : Infalliability decree issued by Akbar.
1420 : Visit of Nicolo Conti. 1581 : Din-i-Ilahi promulgated by Akbar.
1451-1526: Bahlul Lodhi (1451-89), Sikandar Lodhi 1600 : Deccan expedition and siege of
(1489-1517), and Ibrahim Lodhi (1517-26) Ahmadnagar
1526 : The first Battle of Panipat (1526) Babur : Charter to British East India company.
defeats Ibrahim Lodhi. 1605 : Death of Akbar and accession of
1336 : Foundation of the empire of Vijayanagar Jahangir.
by Harihara and Bukka 1605-1627: Reign of Jahangir.
1438-1468: Reign of Rana kumbha in Mewar. 1609 : William Hawking visited Jahangir.
1509-1530: Reign of Krishnadeva Raya, the great- 1615 : Sir Thomas Roe in the court of Jahangir.
est king of Vijayanagar. 1627 : Death of Jahangir.
1565 : Battle of Talikota, decline of the empire 1628 : Shah Jahan proclaimed Emperor.
of Vijayanagar.
1631 : Death of Mumtaz Mahal.
1346 : Foundation of the Bahmani kingdom by
1636 : Treaties with Bijapur and Golcunda.
Ala-ud-din Hasan Bahman Shah (1347-
1658 : Coronation of Aurangzeb.
1358).
1498 : Vasco da Gama arrives at Calicut 1659 : Murder of Afzal Khan by Shivaji.
1505 : De Almeida, the first Viceroy of Portuguese 1663 : Death of Mir Jumla.
in India : Attack on Poona by Shivaji.
1510 : Conquest of Goa from the Adilshahi Sul- : Shaista Khan appointed Governor of Ben-
tan of Bijapur – 1510. gal.
1526 : Babur defeats Ibrahim Lodhi at the first 1665 : Conclusion of the treaty of Purandhar -
battle of Panipat. Formation of Mughal signed between Sivaji and Jai Singh.
empire. 1666 : Death of Shah Jahan.
1527 : Battle of Khanwa. Babur defeats Rana 1674 : Sivaji's Coronation and assumption of
Sanga of Mewar. the title of Chatrapati.
1530 : Accession of Humayun. 1675 : Execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur.
1538 : Death of Guru Nanak. 1679 : Jeziah imposed on the Hindus by
1539 : Sher Shah defeats Humayun at Chausa Aurangzeb.
and assumes sovereignty. 1680 : Death of Sivaji.

36 4

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1686 : Conquest of Bijapur by Aurangzeb.
1687 : Golconda annexed to the Mughal empire.
1707 : Death of Aurangzeb at Ahmadnagar.
1739 : Invasion of Nadirshah.
1740-1761: Peshwaship of Balaji Baji Rao (Nana
Saheb).
1746-48 : First Carnatic war.
1748-54 : Second Carnatic war.
1756-63 : Third Carnatic war.
1757 : Battle of Plassey.
1760 : Battle of Wandiwash.
1761 : Third Battle of Panipat: The Marathas
defeated by the combined troops of
Ahmad Shah Abdali; the Mughals, and
other Muslim chiefs of India.
1764 : Battle of Buxar. The English defeat Shah
Alam, Shuja-ud-daulah and Mir Qasim.
1765 : Grant of the ‘Diwani’ of Bengal, Bihar,
and Orissa to the East India Company
by Shah Alam II under Treaty of
Allahabad.
: Clive, Company’s Governor in Bengal.
1765-72 : Dual Government of Bengal.
1767-69 : The First Anglo Mysore War.
1770 : The Great Bengal Famine.
1771 : Marathas occupy Delhi and restore Shah
Alam who was till then under English
protection at Allahabad.
1772-73 : Warren Hastings as Governor of Bengal.
: Abolition of Dual Government of Bengal
(1772).
1773 : The Regulating Act was passed, bring-
ing the company partially under
Parliament’s control and the Presidencies
under Calcutta’s control.
1773-85 : Warren Hastings Governor-General.
: Establishment of Supreme Court,
Calcutta.
1775-82 : The First Anglo-Maratha War.
1776 : Treaty of Purandar
1780-84 : Second Mysore War.
1783 : Fox’s India Bills give more powers to Par-
liament and to the Governor-General.
1784 : Treaty of Mangalore between Tipu and the
English.
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: Pitt’s Act passed, Setting up Board of Con-
trol for East India Company.
: Asiatic Society of Bengal founded by Sir
William Jones.
1786-93 : Lord Cornwalis, Governor-General.
1790-92 : Third Mysore War.
1792 : Treaty of Srirangapatnam signed be-
tween Tipu and English.
1793-98 : Sir John Shore, Governor-General.
1793 : The Permanent Zamindari Settlement of
Bengal.
1798 : Lord Wellesley as Governor-General and
brought subsidiary alliance.
1799 : Fourth Mysore War. Fall of Srirangapat-
nam. Death of Tipu.
1800 : Establishment of the College of Fort Will-
iam.
1802 : The Treaty of Bassein between Peshwa
and English.
1803 : Occupation of Delhi by Lord Lake.
1803-05 : Second Anglo-Maratha War.
1807-13 : Lord Minto as Governor-General.
1809 : Treaty of Amritsar-Ranjit Singh and Brit-
ish sign treaty of perpetual amity.
1813-23 : Lord Hastings as Governor-General.
1814-16 : Anglo-Gurkha War.
1817-18 : Pindari War – Peshwa defeated at
Kirkee.
1818-19 : Last Anglo-Maratha War.
1823-28 : Lord Amherst Governor-General.
1824-26 : First Burmese War.
1828-35 : Lord William Bentinck as Governor-
General.
1829 : Prohibition of Sati.
1829-37 : Suppression of Thuggee.
1833 : Renewal of Company’s charter. Abolition
of the Company’s trading rights.
1835-36 : Sir Charles Metcalf Governor-General.
1835 : Macaulay’s Education Resolution. English
made official language instead of Per-
sian.
1835 : Foundation of Calcutta Medical College.
1836-1842: Lord Auckland as Governor-General.
1839 : Death of Ranjit Singh.
1842-44 : Lord Ellenborough as Governor-General.
1844-48 : Lord Hardinge as Governor-General.
1845-46 : First Anglo-Sikh War. Treaty of Lahore.
1848-49 : Second Anglo-Sikh War. Defeat of Sikhs
and annexation of the Punjab.
: Opening of a Hindu Girls’ School in Cal-
cutta by Bethune.
1848-56 : Lord Dalhousie as Governor-General.
1852 : Second Anglo-Burmese War.
1853 : Railway opened from Bombay to Thana.
Telegraph line from Calcutta to Agra.
1854 : Charles Wood’s despatch on Education.
1855 : Santhal insurrection in Bihar.
1856 : Annexation of Awadh. Indian Univer-
sity Act. Hindu Widow’s Remarriage
Act.
1856-58 : Lord Canning – Governor-General.
1857-58 : Revolt of 1857. Revolt at Meerut begins
on May 10, 1857.
1858 : British India placed under the direct gov-
ernment of the Crown. Queen Victoria’s
Proclamation.
1858-62 : Lord Canning as Viceroy.
1861 : Indian Councils Act.
: Archaeological Survey of India set up.
: Indian Civil Service Act.
: Introduction of the Penal code.
1862-63 : Lord Elgin as Viceroy.
1864-69 : Sir John Lawrence Viceroy.
1865 : Telegraphic communication with Europe
opened.
1869-72 : Lord Mayo as Viceroy.
1875 : Visit of the Prince of Wales.
: Arya Samaj founded by Swami
Dayananda.
1877 : Lord Lytton held Durbar at Delhi where
Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress
of India.
1878 : Vernacular Press Act.
1879 : Theosophical Society at Adayar, (was
set up) Madras.
1880-84 : Lord Ripon as Viceroy.
1881 : Factory Act.
1883 : Indian National Conference held in
Calcutta.
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1883-84 : Ilbert Bill controversy.
1884-88 : Lord Dufferin Viceroy.
1885 : First session of the Indian National Con-
gress held at Bombay.
1887 : Queen Victoria's Jubilee.
1888-93 : Lord Landsdowne Viceroy.
1892 : Indian Councils Act.
1894-99 : Lord Elgin II Viceroy.
1896 : Ramakrishna Mission founded.
1899-1905: Lord Curzon Viceroy.
1905 : Partition of Bengal.
1905-10 : Lord Minto II Viceroy.
1906 : Muslim League formed at Dacca.
1907 : Surat Congress, moderates-extremists
clash.
1908 : Newspapers Act. Tilak convicted of sedi-
tion.
1909 : Morley-Minto Reforms.
: Indian Councils Act passed.
1910-16 : Lord Hardinge II Viceroy.
1911 : Delhi Durbar.
: Partition of Bengal annulled. Census of In-
dia.
: Transfer of Capital to Delhi announced
1914 : Gandhi arrives in India.
1916 : Lucknow Pact of Indian National Con-
gress and All-India Muslim League.
: Foundation of Women’s University at
Poona.
: The Home Rule League founded.
1916-21 : Lord Chelmsford as Viceroy.
1919 : Montague-Chelmsford Reforms.
: Rowlatt Act passed.
: Massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar
(April 13).
1920 : Khilafat Movement and Non Co-opera-
tion Movement.
1921 : Moplah Rebellion and Wagon Tragedy.
1921-26 : Lord Reading Viceroy.
1921 : Harappa excavations begin.
1922 : Mohenjodaro excavations begin.
: Chauri Chaura incident.
1923 : Swarajists in Indian Councils.
1926-31 : Lord Irwin Viceroy.
1927 : Appointment of Simon Commission. 1947 : Announcement of Lord Mountbatten’s
1928 : Simon Commission comes to India. plan for Partition of India (June 3).
: Death of Lala Lajpat Rai following po- : Indian Independence Act passed (July).
lice assault. Nehru Report. : Creation of free India and Pakistan on
1929 : Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt drops midnight of August 14/15, 1947 as do-
bombs in the Legislative Assembly. minions.
1947-64 : Jawaharlal Nehru Prime Minister of In-
: Congress on December 31 at Lahore de-
dia.
claring its objective of Poora Swaraj for
1948 : Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi
India.
(January 30).
1930 : Gandhiji’s Dandi March. Civil Disobedi- : Raja-gopalachari appointed first Indian
ence Movement. Governor-General (June 21).
1930-31 : First Round Table Conference. 1949 : New Constitution of India adopted and
1931 : Gandhi-Irwin Pact signed. signed (November 26).
: Second Round Table Conference. 1950 : India become a Republic. New Consti-
1931-36 : Lord Wellingdon Viceroy. tution comes into force (January 26).
1932 : Third Round Table Conference. : Dr. Rajendra Prasad, first President of
: Communal Award announced. Indian Republic.
: Poona Pact signed. : Planning Commission was set up
1951 : Inauguration of First Five Year Plan.
1934 : Civil Disobedience Movement called off.
1952 : First General Election in India
1935 : Government of India Act, 1935 passed : National Development Council (NDC)
by British Parliament. set up.
1936-44 : Lord Linlithgow Viceroy. : Family Planning is launched.
1937 : Inauguration of Provincial Autonomy. 1953 : Conquest of Mount Everest.
Congress Ministries formed in seven out : University Grants Commission (UGC) is
of eleven provinces. set up
1938 : Haripura session of the Congress. : CBI is set up
1939 : Second World War begins (September). : Formation of Andhra Pradesh on
1940 : Pakistan resolution passed by Muslim linquiestic basis
League at Lahore. 1954 : Chou En-lai, the Chinese Premier visits
1941 : Subhash Chandra Bose escapes from In- India.
dia. : Panchashila signed between China and In-
dia.
1942 : Cripps comes to India with his propos-
1955 : Hindu Marriage Act and Indian Citizen-
als in March.
ship Act.
: Congress rejects Cripps Proposal (11
1956 : Reorganisation of Indian States on lin-
April).
guistic basis
: “Quit India” resolution passed by Con- : 2nd Five Year Plan launched.
gress on August 8. : Nationalisation of insurance companies.
1944-47 : Lord Wavell Viceroy. 1957 : Second General election. Introduction of
1944 : INA reaches Indian soil. decimal system of coinage.
1945 : Labour Government in Britain. INA sur- : National Calender based on Saka era
renders to the British (May). First trial adopted.
of INA men (November 5). 1959 : Dalai Lama reaches India for political
1946 : Cabinet Mission’s plans announced asylum, Indo-Chinese relations worsen.
(June 16). : Panchayat Raj introduced in Rajasthan.
1947-48 : Lord Mountbatten Viceroy. 1961 : Goa, Daman and Diu liberated from Portu-

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 guese possession.
: Arjuna Award introduced
1962 : Indo-China War.
1964 : Death of Jawaharlal Nehru
: Lal Bahadur Shastri becomes Prime Minis-
ter.
1965 : Indo-Pak War.
1966 : Tashkent Declaration
: Death of Lal Bahadur Shastri
: Indira Gandhi becomes Prime Minister.
1969 : First Nationalisation of 14 Banks.
: First Dada Sahib Phalke Award was
given to Davika Rani
1971 : Indo-Pak War
: Birth of Bangladesh.
1972 : Shimla Agreement between India and
Pakistan.
1973 : Project Tiger
1974 : Underground nuclear explosion carried
out at Pokhran (May 18).
1975 : Emergency declared in the country.
: Aryabhatta goes to orbit.
1977 : Janata Party comes to power.
: Vajpayee address UNO in Hindi.
1978 : Denomination of high value notes of Rs.
1,000, Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 10,000
demonetised.
1979 : Morarji Desai resigns as Prime Minister.
: Charan Singh becomes Prime Minister.
: Death of Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan.
: Bhakara I launched
1980 : Mother Theresa gets Bharat Ratna.
: Six more commercial banks nationalised.
1981 : Apple was launched
: First Indian Antartic Expedition to
Qusim. Dakshin Gangothri, India’s first
permanent station at Antartica was set
up.
1983 : Bharat Ratna posthumously awarded to
Acharya Vinoba Bhave.
: INSAT-IB successfully launched.
1984 : Sqn. Ldr. Rakesh Sharma becomes first In-
dian cosmonaut to go into space.
: Bachendri Pal becomes first Indian woman
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to scale Mount Everest.
: Indira Gandhi assassinated
: Rajiv Gandhi sworn in as new Prime
Minister.
: Bhopal Gas tragedy
1985 : Centenary celebrations of Indian Na-
tional Congress held.
: Dhronachary Award instituted
1986 : Centre and Laldenga sign Mizo Accord.
1987 : Frontier Gandhi, Khan Abdul Gaffar
Khan given Bharat Ratna. First foreigner
to get Bharatratna.
1988 : Bharat Ratna conferred on M.G.
Ramachandran.
: Contingent of Indian Army flown to
Maldives to help President Abdul
Gayoom.
: Lok Sabha passes Constitutional
Amendment Bill reducing voting age
from 21 to 18 years.
1989 : V.P. Singh sworn in as seventh Prime
Minister with Devi Lal as his Deputy.
1990 : Nelson Mandela honoured with Bharat
Ratna.
: V.P. Singh resigns after losing vote of
confidence in Lok Sabha.
: Chandra Shekhar is sworn as New Prime
Minister.
1991 : Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated at Sriperum
budur in Tamil Nadu.
: Bharat Ratna is conferred on Morarji Desai.
Rajiv Gandhi and Sardar Patel are awarded
Bharat Ratna posthumously.
1992 : Maulana Azad posthumously awarded
Bharat Ratna.
: Kar Sevaks demolished Babri Masjid in
Ayodhya
1993 : Battle tank “Arjun” inducted into Indian
Army.
: Job Quota for OBC’s becomes operative.
: Earth quake at Lathur, Maharashtra
1994 : Panchayati Raj Act becomes operational.
1995 : Morarji Desai, dies. Bombay becomes
mumbai.
1996 : Atal Behari Vajpayee becomes Prime
 Minister on May 16 and resigns on May
28.
: H.D. Deve Gowda becomes Prime Min-
ister on June 1. Madras becomes
Chennai.
1997 : Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C1) is
launched from Sriharikota (Andhra
Pradesh).
: Arundhati Roy bagged the 29th Booker
Prize,
: Kalpana Chawla became the first Indian-
born US woman to go into space.
1998 : India’s second (May 11) and third (May
13) nuclear explosion at Pokhran.
: M.S. Subhalekshmi and Jaya Prakash
Narayan win Bharat Ratna.
: Vajpayee becomes 12 Prime Minister
of India.
: Param 10000 India’s new super computer
unveailed.
: Konkan Railway (760 km) inaugurated.
1999 : INSAT 2E was launched on April 3
: PSLV-C2 launched IRS P4.
: India becomes leading producer of milk
in the world.
: Amarthya Sen wins Bharat Ratna.
: India launched Operation Vijay to repel
the Pak intruders from Kargil.
2000 : Bill Clinton visits India.
: Lara Dutta of India becomes Miss Uni-
verse.
: Formation of the states of Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand and Uttaranchal.
: Karnam Malleswary wins bronze medal
in Sydney olympics.
: Priyanka Chopra of India becomes Miss
world.
2001 : GSLV D1 launches GSAT. Indian parlia-
ment attacked.
2002 : Ms. Poornima Advani is appointed Chair-
person of the National Commission for
women.
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: Former Indian Air Force Chief, Arjan
Singh, is made the first ever marshal of
the IAF.
: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam 11th President
: Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is sworn in
the 12th Vice-President.
: The first exclusive 1,060 kg. meteoro-
logical satellite (METSAT) is success-
fully launched from the Sriharikotta by
PSLV.
: Justice V.N. Khare is sworn in Chief Jus-
tice of India.
2003 : L.K. Advani is appointed Deputy Prime
Minister.
: INSAT 3E, was launched (September 28)
: Air Marshal T.M. Asthana is named the
first Commander-in-Chief of the Strate-
gic Forces Command.
: The Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee Chris-
tens METSAT, Kalpana I after Kalpana
Chawla.
: Mehbooba Mufti takes over as president
of the Peoples Democratic Party thus be-
coming the first woman to head a politi-
cal party in J and K.
: INS Talwar the Navy’s first stealth war-
ship is inducted into western fleet.
: G. Madhavan Nair assumes office as
Chairman, Space Commission and ISRO
: The government constitutes the 17th
Law Commission with Justice M.
Jayannatha Rao as Chairman.
: The LokSabha passes the POTA
Amendment Bill, 2003, providing for safe-
guard against misuse.
: Rajya Sabha passes dual citizenship bill.
2004 : India becomes the first developing coun-
try to import LNG.
: India wins its first ever test series in Pa-
kistan.
: Major Rajya Vardhan Singh Rathore gets
the silver medal for India in shooting
(double trap category) at the Olympic
 Games.
: EDUSAT - India’s first exclusive satel-
lite for educational services, placed in
orbit.
: Tata Motors becomes the first company
in the Indian engineering sector to list
its securities on the New York Stock Ex-
change.
: Kerala’s Palakkad district collectorate is
the first in India to be totally computer-
ised.
: The Mahatma Gandhi International
Peace Award to the former Botswana
President Sir Ketimile Masire.
: Over 80,000 people are killed following
an undersea earthquake off Sumatra in
Indonesia, over 19,000 people are killed
in India.
: ‘Lakshya’ pilotless target aircraft, test
flown.
2005 : Cabinet decided to offer dual citizenship
for all overseas Indians who migrated af-
ter January 26, 1950.
: President’s rule was imposed on Goa and
the Assembly kept under suspended
animation, even after the Pratapsingh
Rane Government wins the trust vote.
: Tamil writer D. Jayakanthan is selected
for the 38th Jnanapith Award for 2002.
He is the second Tamil author after P.V.
Akhilandan to receive the honour.
: Dandi March route (384 km) is declared
a heritage path and the Prime Minister,
Manmohan Singh, announces a Rs 10
crore package for Sabarmati Gandhi
Ashram renovation, on the 75th anniver-
sary day of the breaking of the salt act
by Mahatma Gandhi.
: India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
PSLVC-6 is launched from the spaceport
in Sriharikota, and it injects two satel-
lites CARTOSAT - 1 and HAMSAT into
their orbits.
: The Lok Sabha passes the Right to in-
formation Bill.
: The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh,
launches the National Knowledge Com-
mission.
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: The Government comes out with the first
ever Outcome Budget.
: The trial-run, of the first Amritsar- Lahore
service begins linking the two cities for
the first time nearly six decades.
2006 : India’s first rubber dam is installed across
the Janjhavati river in Andhra Pradesh’s
Vizianagaram district.
: Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy is
awarded the 2005 Sahitya Akademi
Award for English for her book of es-
says The Algebra of Infinite Justice.
: The first-ever-Lahore- Amritsar bus ser-
vice begins.
: The world’s longest rail is flagged off
from Bhilai steel plant.
: The President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, re-
turns the Office of Profit Bill for recon-
sideration
: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam becomes the first
President to make a sortie in a combat
aircraft after flying in a Sukhoi-30 MKT
after take off from Lahegaon airbase,
Pune.
: N. Gopalaswami takes over as the new
Chief Election Commissioner.
: The GSLV - FO2 launch from Sriharikota,
Andhra Pradesh ends in failure after the
vehicle crashes into the Bay of Bengal.
: Social activist Arvind Kajriwal is elected
for the 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award
in the Emergent Leadership category.
: The President A.P.J Abdul Kalam, con-
fers the 39th Jnanapith Award on
Marathi writer Vinda Karandikar.
: Actor Shabana Azmi is chosen for the
Gandhi International Peace Prize 2006.
: The protection of women from Domestic
Violence Act 2006 comes into effect.
: The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,
presents the 21st Indira Gandhi Prize for
National Integration to lyricist Javed
Akhtar.
: Sri Lankan President, Mahinda
Rajapaksa inaugurates the three - day
first Asian Mayor’s meet in Dehra Dun.
INDIAN HISTORY
Pre-Historic Period
 The earliest traces of human existence in India so
far discovered is between 4,00,000 and 2,00,000
BC from Sohan valley (now in Pakistan)
 Neolithic settlements in Indian subcontinent are
not older than 4000 BC.
 Wheat and barley were the first cereals grown by
Indians.
 The name India was derived from the rivername
Sindhu which is also known as Indus.
 India was originally considered as a part of a larger
area called Jambu-dvipa (The continent of Jambu
tree)
 Krita, Treta, Dwapara and Kali are the four ages
of traditional Hindu thought.
Gulf of Cambut Culture
 The Gulf of Cambut culture which was discov-
ered recently from the Bay of Cambut in Gujarat
dates back to 7500 BC.
 This was found out by the National Institute of
Open Technology (NIOT).
Indus Valley Civilisation
 The Harappan culture spread over the whole of
Sind, Baluchistan, almost the whole of Punjab,
northern Rajasthan, Kathiawar and Gujarat.
 Harappa the first Indus site, was discovered by
Dayaram Sahni in 1921. It is situated in the prov-
ince of West Punjab, Montgeomery district in Pa-
kistan.
 Harappa is located on the bank of river Ravi.
 Mohanjedaro was excavated in 1922 by R.D.
vetripadi.com
Banarjee. It is situated in the Larkhana district in
Sind on the right bank of river Indus (Now in
Pakistan)
 The Great Granery, the Great Bath a piece of
woven cotton, a beared man in steatite and a
bronze dancing girl are found from Mohanjedaro.
 An assembly hall was also discovered from
Mohanjodaro.
 The most important feature of Harappan
civilisation was town planning and urbanism.
 The word Mohanjedaro in Sindi language means
‘the mount of the dead’.
 Mohanjodaro was believed to have destructed
by flood.
 Harappans knew the art of growing cereals, wheat
and barley.
 Banawali is situated in Hariyana.
 Chanhudaro, discovered by N. Gopal Majundar
and Mackey, is situated in Sind on the bank of
river Indus.
 Kalibangan, another famous Indus city discov-
ered in 1953 by A Ghosh, is situated in Rajasthan
on the banks of River Ghaggar. Kalibangan stands
for black bangles.
 Lothal, first man made port in the world and dock-
yard made of burnt bricks, was discovered in 1953
by S.R. Rao is situated in Gujarat on Bhogava
river near Gulf of Cambay.
 Ropar is the site situated in Punjab on the banks
of river Sutlej. It was discovered in 1953 by
Y.D.Sharma.
 Harappan people were the earliest people in the
world to grow cotton and rice.
 People cultivated rice at Lothal and Rangpur and
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